ABSTRACT
Taking the property, especially the cultural property of a people, contributes to a dehumanization and distancing of the victim. Clearly, the notion that culture helps make for more ethical and compassionate human beings is naive (at best). Cultural property also extended to archives, and even during the war, individuals like Emanuel Ringelblum realized that safeguarding the records of the afflicted population constituted an act of resistance—an effort to preserve the humanity of the victims. In that George Steiner views religion as an important part of culture and then indicts Christianity as a major factor in preparing the way to genocide, he was certainly right. This chapter believes that the study of the Holocaust must include a recognition of the importance of artistic property and also the institutions that foster and protect culture. The advancement of Holocaust studies requires robust institutional support for research and public engagement.
